Seatbelts are a ubiquitous feature in vehicles of all types, and in particular are installed in all modern automobiles. Seatbelts are such an important safety feature that in many locations their use is mandated by law.
Due to educational awareness programs and state laws, most people today automatically buckle up their seatbelt upon entering a motor vehicle. Such use has undoubtedly saved countless lives and will continue to do so into the future. However, a portion of the population sometimes seen not wearing seatbelts are those of law enforcement officers and military personnel who frequently need to exit a motor vehicle in an emergency situation. The extra seconds taken to release a seatbelt system are often seen as a detriment to their safety. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which seatbelt systems can be automatically and quickly released in a simultaneous manner as the vehicle door being opened to address the situation described above.
Having recognized the abovementioned problems, the inventor observed there remains a need for a means by which seatbelt systems can be quickly released in an automatic manner to address the situation described above.
Several attempts have been made in the past to provide such an automatic belt restraint release device. U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,249, in the name of Strom, discloses an assembly for positioning safety belts in restraining and non-restraining positions with pivoting arm mounted along the floor of the vehicle in response to opening and closing of the door. The Strom invention utilizes mechanical coupling between the door and the release mechanism whereas the present invention relies upon electrical signals.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,963,090, issued in the name of Hollins, describes an automatic seat belt buckle unlatching mechanism for when the engine of the vehicle is stalled. Unfortunately, this does not fall under the overall scope of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,625, issued in the name of Tsuge et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,432,119 issued in the name of Schwark et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 7,275,613, issued in the name of Park, each disclose similar automatic seat belt unbuckling mechanisms.
None of the prior art particularly describes a device that provides such a release mechanism for a shoulder belt assembly and lap belt assembly restraint in a vehicle. Accordingly, there is a need for a means by which one can quickly remove such belt restraint assemblies during an emergency or need for quick exit of a vehicle, such as emergency or law enforcement personnel.